Whicker: Wild horse Puig needs taming

Oct. 18, 2013

Updated Oct. 19, 2013 12:04 p.m.

1 of 1

Dodgers right fielder Yasiel Puig misplays a ball hit by Cardinals catcher Yadier Molina for a fifth-inning error Friday, much to the delight of the St. Louis fans. MICHAEL GOULDING, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

Dodgers right fielder Yasiel Puig misplays a ball hit by Cardinals catcher Yadier Molina for a fifth-inning error Friday, much to the delight of the St. Louis fans.MICHAEL GOULDING, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

CHECK OUT OUR SPORTS COLUMNISTS

ST. LOUIS – It took him barely a week to prove he could hit, field, throw, slug, run and become a jumper cable for a juiceless franchise.

Now the world demands one more thing out of Yasiel Puig. He needs to prove he’s a baseball player.

Before we go farther, please understand that the Dodgers did not lose Game 6 of the National League Championship Series Friday because Puig was digging holes for himself in right field.

It was 9-0, after all. The Dodgers scored 13 runs in the six-game series and, in St. Louis, four runs in 31 innings.

“It didn’t really matter what happened as long as we didn’t score any runs,” Adrian Gonzalez said.

Clayton Kershaw gave up 10 hits for only the third time in his career and the first time outside Denver.

Michael Wacha was so overwhelming in his seven innings that, when he walked, first baseman Gonzalez told him, “Don’t ever develop a slider. You’ll be unhittable.”

In fact, you could blame Albert Pujols, not Puig, for the way this turned out.

The Cardinals picked Wacha with the compensatory first-round pick they got from the Angels when Pujols came west. Then they signed Carlos Beltran to replace Pujols in the lineup, and Beltran drove in six of their 20 runs in this series.

Wacha was the 19th pick of the 2012 draft. The Dodgers had the 18th pick. They chose third baseman Corey Seager, who is supposed to be their top infield prospect. He had better be.

But we live in a highlight world, unfortunately, and the camera just loves Puig.

It started in a third inning that will live in Dodgers infamy, since it featured 48 pitches by Kershaw and four St. Louis runs.

Matt Carpenter took Kershaw through an 11-pitch at-bat and then doubled to right. Beltran then singled to right.

It is hard to really describe what Puig did or what he was thinking, but he scooped the ball and flung it on the run toward Gonzalez.

Now, the fact that he hit the cutoff man was a promising development. But Beltran was running all the way and Gonzalez, fumbling the ball a bit, had no chance to get him at second.

Puig, 22, obviously should have thrown to second or held the ball and waited for Beltran to retreat. Neither baseball gods nor the Cardinals let such sins go unpunished, and Yadier Molina, David Freese and Shane Robinson all got base hits with two away.

Then Puig fielded Robinson’s hit and heaved it over the head of catcher A.J. Ellis. He also began the fifth by botching Molina’s base hit, which kicked off a five-run spree.

“It’s what we’ve kind of watched all along,” Don Mattingly said. “You kind of go over and it and you try to teach. You don’t have time to work on it really.

“Yasiel gets excited. He’s going to try to make plays all the time and that’s the way he is. But we’ve got to do a better job, I think, of helping him to mature and understand what we want done.”

“Errors are part of the game,” Puig said. “The ball (by Molina) hit the ground and skidded a little bit. But the one thing you learn about the playoffs is that every run and every at-bat and every play on defense is important, and you have to do your best.”

If you are getting weary of hearing the Dodgers sound so helpless when it comes to educating their next star, you are not alone.

Puig did not begin playing baseball last March. Not to make unfair comparisons, but he has played much more high-level baseball than Mike Trout did before Trout was drafted.

It’s great to be a wild horse, and to generate T-shirt sales and videos, but they don’t let wild horses run in the Derby.

“At the end of the day, whether it’s 1-0 or 9-0, it’s still nothing,” Ellis said. “But they got runs when guys moved up on the bases. It’s kind of what we’re playing with, with Yasiel. He’s got that great arm, and that aggressiveness and passion plays through, 95 percent of the time.

“But there comes a time when restraint is needed. Keeping double plays in order is really important in this game. It keeps the pressure on when there are runners in scoring position. The margin for error really shrinks. They moved guys up, and then there were five more RBIs.”

The loss still seemed like more of a beginning than an end for the Dodgers, and for Puig. He might still color outside the lines. Or he might have looked around this red baseball heaven thoughtfully enough to realize that winning is the ultimate fun.

User Agreement

Keep it civil and stay on topic. No profanity, vulgarity, racial
slurs or personal attacks. People who harass others or joke about
tragedies will be blocked. By posting your comment, you agree to
allow Orange County Register Communications, Inc. the right to
republish your name and comment in additional Register publications
without any notification or payment.